Defense Saves the Day for Red Raiders

Transcription

1 Defense Saves the Day for Red Raiders By BRIAN CARSON LEWISTOWN It should have been an easy win on paper, but as we all know, football games are decided on the field not by won-loss records. Lewistown proved to be anything but a doormat as Bellefonte needed two big defensive stands late in the game to come away with a hard-fought 13-7 Mountain Athletic Conference victory over the Panthers at Mitchell Field on Friday evening. The Red Raiders, now 3-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Seven Mountains division, came into the contest fifth in the District 6-AAA rankings, 17 points behind Indian Valley for the fourth and final playoff slot. The victory kept their postseason dreams alive. I m proud of our young guys. We made some changes in this game and the young kids played hard and battled the whole game, said Bellefonte head coach Tom Gravish. I m really proud of our defense. We still have goals for this season and one of them is to be playing on November 11. In order to do that we still have four games to play and you can t play them all at once. We have to take them one game at a time. The Bellefonte defense was stout all game, stopping Lewistown (0-7, MAC 0-4) three times in the red zone and it was those defensive stands that proved to be the difference. In the first quarter, the Panthers had a first-and-goal at the Red Raider 2, but an unsportsmanlike penalty and a sack by Zack Brinkman put Lewistown back on the 26, resulting in a missed field goal by Adam Ahern. Early in the fourth quarter, the Panthers drove to the Red Raider 10, but Ryan Poorman stuffed two runs and blocked a 27-yard Ahern field goal attempt to keep the score at A Bellefonte fumble late in the game gave Lewistown one more chance, but the Red Raider defense rose to the occasion once again. The Panthers took over with 2:59 left in the game and thanks to a 15- yard run by Shane Moist and a 22-yard pass from Connor Muir to Matt Gregg; Lewistown had a first and goal at the Bellefonte 8. Three runs later and the host squad faced a fourth-and-goal at the 5 with 12 second left on the clock. Muir floated a pass to wideout Jamal Montanez that sailed out of the back of the endzone, giving the Red Raiders the victory. One of the decisions we made was to put Ryan (Poorman) on defense. We knew he could do it his time was now and he came through with two big tackles and a blocked field goal, remarked Gravish. Our defense made key plays all night. I believe it was our best defensive effort of the season. Bellefonte got on the scoreboard early in the first when Preston Lanager bulled in from two-yards out to cap a 10-play, 67-yard drive. Justin Witherite nailed the PAT and the Red Raiders had a 7-0 advantage with 8:08 left in the first quarter. Heath Sprout caught two passes for 24 yards and Poorman had a 12-yard run to highlight the drive. The Red Raiders made it 13-0 after Poorman hit Matt Fisher on the slant for a 16-yard touchdown with 2:08 left until half. Fisher keyed the 10-play, 55-yard drive with a 23-yard reception that gave Bellefonte a first-and-10 and the Panther 19. We saw that they were overloading on the trips side and Matt was left with one-on-one coverage, explained Gravish. We told Ryan if they did that to look for the receiver in single coverage. Lewistown got on the board with 29 second left in the half, thanks to the pass-catch combo of Muir to Gregg. On the drive, Muir connected with Gregg four times for 44 yards before finding Eric Hesketh in the endzone from 15- yards out. Ahern s PAT made the halftime score Muir was 17-for-28 for 192 yards and one touchdown. Gregg ended the game with eight receptions for 89

2 yards. Poorman threw for 120 yards on 8-of-15 passing with a score. Give Lewistown credit. They ve played teams tough all year and they moved the ball on us pretty good, said Gravish. They are a better team than what they re record says. Bellefonte hosts Penns Valley on Friday. SCORE BY QUARTERS Bellefonte Lewistown First Quarter B-Lanager 2 run (Witherite kick), 8:08. Second Quarter B-Fisher 16 pass from Poorman (kick failed), 2:08. L-Hesketh 15 pass from Muir (Ahern kick), :29. INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: Bellefonte-Poorman 9-47, Lanager 13-46, Benscoter 8-16, Sprout 1-5. Lewistown-Knable 14-46, Umbenhour 6-25, Moist 6-25, McMahon 4-16, McClellan 6-6, Muir 5-(minus 24), TEAM 1-2. PASSING: Bellefonte-Poorman Lewistown-Muir RECEIVING: Bellefonte-Fisher 3-45, Irwin 2-27, Sprout 2-24, Radziak Lewistown-Gregg 8-89, Knable 3-28, Montanez 1-23, Peachey 1-23, Hesketh 2-17, Shank 1-6, Haines 1-6. INTERCEPTIONS: Bellefonte--Masullo. Lewistown-Haines. TEAM STATISTICS B L First downs Yards rushing Passing (comp.-att.-int.) Yards passing Total yards Fumbles lost Penalties-yards Punts-avg Around District 6: Windber 26, Portage 7

3 The Ramblers scored 26 unanswered points in the second half to defeat the previously unbeaten Mustangs in a battle for the WestPAC championship. Matt Andrascik ran for 147 yards and a score to keep Windber undefeated at 7-0. The Rambler defense gave up their first points of the season, but still held Portage (6-1), which came into the contest averaging 41 points and 339 yards a game, to just 160 yards of total offense. Bellwood-Antis 33, Chestnut Ridge 22 Josh Kleinfelter ran for 73 yards and a touchdown to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season and lead the Blue Devils (5-2) to the win over the Lions (4-3). Bellwood QB Evan Hughes was 7-for-10 for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Bishop McCort 30, Johnstown 0 The Crushers captured their sixth straight win by dominating previously unbeaten Johnstown (6-1) in a battle for first place in the Laurel Highlands Section II standings. Bishop McCort (6-1) was led by its trio of backs Scott Lewis (155 yards, 1 TD), Brad Barbin (69 yards, 2 TDs), and Josh Kubinsky (52 yards). The Crushers held Antwuan Reed, the Trojans 1,000-yard rusher, to only 35 yards on 12 carries. Huntingdon 35, Indian Valley 14 Tim Rohrer rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns, while QB Shawn Shoemaker ran for 84 yards and two scores to lead the Bearcats (6-1) to the win over the Warriors (3-4). Nam Shartzer ran for 112 yards and a TD for Indian Valley, who fell one spot behind Bellefonte for the final playoff spot in District 6-AAA. Marion Center 34, Ligonier Valley 20 The Stingers remained perfect on the season at 7-0 and maintained their lead in the Heritage Conference with a key victory over the Mounties (5-2). Marion Center running backs Todd Smyers and Dan Hoover each scored two touchdowns to spark the victory. Penn Cambria 34, Forest Hills 30 The Panthers won their sixth straight game and captured the Laurel Highlands Section I title with the victory over the Rangers (5-2). Penn Cambria (6-1) got 100 yards rushing and a TD from Jon Mulhearn, while leading rusher Matt Holsberger ran for two scores. QB George Klayko was 9-of-17 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Forest Hills QB Travis Rearick threw for 290 yards and a touchdown. Altoona 42, Cedar Cliff 21 A.J. Alexander totaled 366 yards, 206 of those on the ground, to lead the Mountain Lions (4-3) to the rout over the Colts (3-4). Alexander ran for a score and threw for two more, while Reggie Mencer ran for 160 yards and a touchdown for Altoona. Defensively, D.J. Patterson intercepted four passes for the Mountain Lions, giving him six on the season. Altoona finished the game with 490 total yards of offense. Tyrone 42, Bishop Guilfoyle 0 The unbeaten Golden Eagles used the big play to roll over the Marauders (2-5) in a Mountain Athletic Nittany Division contest. Tyrone (7-0) had a 97-yard TD run by Johnny Franco, a 64-yard TD run by Tyler Gillmen and a 61- yard touchdown pass from Tyler Golden to Justin Schopp. Franco finished with 168 yards on the ground and Gillmen added 109. The Golden Eagle defense recorded its fourth shutout of the season.

4 State College 49, Williamsport 13 Terna Ityokumbul ran for 171 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Little Lions (6-1) to the victory over the Millionaires (3-4). State College rushed for a season high 309 yards and six touchdowns Penns Valley 13, Mount Union 0 Rams tailback Chris Korn rushed for 205 yards and a touchdown to keep Penns Valley (4-3) in the playoff hunt with the win over the Trojans (1-6). Korn topped the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 1,003 yards. The Rams defense held Mount Union to just 67 total yards. Friday Scores: Glen Mills (Dist 1 AAAA 4-3-0) 56 Hollidaysburg (Dist 6 AAA 4-3-0) 21 Bedford (Dist 5 AA 5-2-0) 40 Cambria Heights (Dist 6 AA 0-7-0) 13 North Star (Dist 5 A 5-2-0) 48 Berlin Brothersvalley (Dist 5 A 1-6-0) 0 Northern Bedford (Dist 5 A 5-2-0) 42 Claysburg-Kimmel (Dist 6 A 3-4-0) 24 Windber (Dist 5 A 7-0-0) 26 Portage (Dist 6 A 6-1-0) 7 Altoona (Dist 6 AAAA 4-3-0) 42 Cedar Cliff (Dist 3 AAAA 3-4-0) 21 Bellefonte (Dist 6 AAA 3-4-0) 13 Lewistown (Dist 6 AAA 0-7-0) 7 Bellwood-Antis (Dist 6 A 5-2-0) 33 Chestnut Ridge (Dist 5 AA 4-3-0) 22 Bishop Carroll (Dist 6 A 2-5-0) 45 Somerset (Dist 6 AAA 1-6-0) 7 Bishop McCort (Dist 6 AA 6-1-0) 30 Johnstown (Dist 6 AAA 6-1-0) 0 Central Cambria (Dist 6 AA 3-4-0) 14 Central (Dist 6 AA 1-6-0) 7 Central Mountain (Dist 6 AAAA 4-3-0) 29 Bradford (Dist 9 AAA 5-2-0) 27 Glendale (Dist 6 A 5-2-0) 49 Tussey Mountain (Dist 5 A 4-3-0) 13 Huntingdon (Dist 6 AAA 6-1-0) 35 Indian Valley (Dist 6 AAA 3-4-0) 14 Juniata Valley (Dist 6 A 5-2-0) 28 Moshannon Valley (Dist 6 A 2-5-0) 21 OT Laurel Valley (Dist 6 A 4-3-0) 20 Saltsburg (Dist 6 A 0-7-0) 7 Marion Center (Dist 6 AA 7-0-0) 34 Ligonier Valley (Dist 6 A 5-2-0) 20 Northern Cambria (Dist 6 A 5-2-0) 14 Blairsville (Dist 6 A 3-4-0) 7 Penn Cambria (Dist 6 AA 6-1-0) 34 Forest Hills (Dist 6 AA 5-2-0) 30 Penns Valley (Dist 6 AA 4-3-0) 13 Mount Union (Dist 6 A 1-6-0) 0 Philipsburg-Osceola (Dist 6 AA 5-2-0) 34 Bald Eagle Area (Dist 6 AA 2-5-0) 6 Southern Huntingdon (Dist 6 A 6-1-0) 55 Everett (Dist 5 AA 0-7-0) 0 State College (Dist 6 AAAA 6-1-0) 49 Williamsport (Dist 4 AAAA 3-4-0) 13 Tyrone (Dist 6 AA 7-0-0) 42 Bishop Guilfoyle (Dist 6 A 2-5-0) 0 Westmont-Hilltop (Dist 6 AA 4-3-0) 23 Richland (Dist 6 AA 3-4-0) 14

5 Williamsburg (Dist 6 A 1-6-0) 20 West Branch (Dist 6 A 2-5-0) 14